


Under Wraps

by Karasuno Volleygays (ToBeOrNotToBeAGryffindor)



Series: Sportsfest 2018 [50]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M, Pining Yahaba, Trans Kunimi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-16
Updated: 2018-09-16
Packaged: 2019-07-13 04:05:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16009928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ToBeOrNotToBeAGryffindor/pseuds/Karasuno%20Volleygays
Summary: Yahaba definitely had A Thing for Kunimi, which is why his heart nearly jumped out of his chest when there was an accident at practice.





	Under Wraps

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for Sportsfest 2018 bonus round 2.

Yahaba had always noticed it, but his good sense always willed out and told him not to ask. After all, if Kunimi wanted them to know something, he would’ve said it directly. The guy had no problems doing that any other time. 

Every day before and after practice, Kunimi disappeared into a bathroom stall to change. He went in and came out fully clothed, and Yahaba wasn’t the only one who noticed. Nobody said anything, and neither did Kunimi, and the world spun on unimpeded. So he didn’t like stripping in front of other people; it was a completely normal aversion, even if it was uncommon for sports club members to act that way.

However, things were different because Yahaba was different. Kunimi had started out as a friend of a friend, someone who had come in a package deal after striking up a cordial relationship with newly arrived first year Kindaichi. That vicarious connection had bloomed into something different and deeper in a hurry.

As the year wore on and they spent more time together, Yahaba couldn’t help but notice Kunimi a shade more than socially acceptable in a locker room. He didn’t dare bring it up in front of the team; he was the captain now, and it was his responsibility to help his teammates, not force them into explaining their actions when it had no real bearing on performance or team dynamics. And definitely not to inflict his own feelings on someone else.

This was Yahaba’s problem and nobody else’s, after all.

That curiosity quickly spiked into concern at practice one day, however. A botched play caused a collision and knocked Kunimi ribs-first into the net pole. Kunimi fell onto his back on the floor, eyes squeezed shut and breathing short and ragged as he clutched at his side. It felt like a stone had dropped in Yahaba’s stomach.

Yahaba wasn’t the closest, but he was the first one there with his heart pounding wildly in his chest. He dropped to his knees at Kunimi’s side, tugging up the side of his t-shirt to inspect the damage. 

Kunimi’s hand was lightning quick grabbing Yahaba’s wrist. “Not here,” he hissed. He caught his breath and murmured, “Take me to the nurse’s office. Please.”

With a curt nod, Yahaba helped Kunimi back to his feet as much as he could without aggravating the injury, and they passed a sea of concerned faces while hobbling out of the gym with Yahaba supporting most of Kunimi’s weight.

Outside, Kunimi waved him off and leaned against the brick wall to wheeze. “Just give me a minute, okay?”

“I almost had a heart attack,” Yahaba admitted. “I’ve never seen someone drop that fast before.”

Kunimi’s head lolled back against the wall and he closed his eyes. “I don’t weigh much, so I’m probably going to lose every time in collisions like that.” He winced as he took a full breath. “I didn’t mean to snap at you. I know you’re just trying to help.”

“Is everything okay?” Yahaba wrung his hands, fairly certain this was a terrible time to bring up the subject, but it wasn’t just curiosity anymore. If Kunimi’s first thought was to keep covered up instead of being checked for broken ribs, then there had to be something amiss. Something important.

Kunimi gave a soft nod. “Yeah, I’m all right. There are just a few things I want to keep to myself while I’m in a locker room.” His breaths slowly started evening out, and relief overtook Kunimi’s features. “I think we can skip the nurse’s office. Can you just take me to the club room?”

“Yeah.” They slowly moved to the club room, which was fortunately situated on the first floor of the extracurricular activities building.

Inside, Kunimi slumped onto the nearest bench and started to peel off his shirt. Out of habit, Yahaba averted his eyes, blinking in surprise when Kunimi said softly, “You can look. I’m not going to dive under the bench or anything.”

Yahaba’s jaw dropped when he saw the crescent shaped scars on Kunimi’s pale chest, right where —

Oh.

“I get why you don’t want to change with the other guys.” Directing his gaze at the task at hand, Yahaba concentrated solely on probing Kunimi’s ribs for possible injury. Part of being a captain at Aobajousai was mandatory first aid training, which Yahaba had bitched about at length. At the moment, though, he was deeply thankful that he wouldn’t have to feel helpless while someone he cared about lay on the floor in pain.

Sighing deeply, Yahaba smiled. “Nothing’s broken. They’ll be tender for a while, though. You should get checked out by a doctor to be safe, but you probably won’t be able to practice for a week.  

“Stay here.” Yahaba visited the cooler in the back of the club room and filled a compress bag with ice. He returned and held it out to Kunimi. “Ice it every few hours and take ibuprofen to keep it from swelling. If it starts feeling better after a few days, you can soak in the bath, too.”

Bobbing his head in the affirmative, Kunimi hesitantly pressed the ice pack to his side and wrinkled his nose when the cold touched his skin. “Thank you.”

Yahaba dropped onto the bench next to Kunimi and fixed his gaze on his fingers as they fidgeted in his lap. “Does anyone else know?”

“Kindaichi knows. Iwaizumi-san knew.” Kunimi adjusted the ice pack, but as it took effect, the tension in his shoulders slowly started to leach away. “It’s not a big deal to me. I was born with body parts I didn’t want, so I got rid of them. It’s other people who decide it’s a problem, not me.”

Kunimi’s flat declaration intrigued Yahaba. He would be terrified of other people knowing that kind of a secret, and he said as much. Kunimi merely chuckled at his words. “Yeah, I used to be like that. Then I realized that I was just reacting to what I’d been taught to think instead of how I really felt. 

“After that, it was more a matter of practicality. High school sucks, and so do most of the people there. I’d rather wait until I’m paroled before I let something like this out.” He raised a brow at Yahaba. “Are you going to tell anyone?”

“No.” Yahaba shook his head adamantly. “It was probably hard to trust me with this, and I respect the hell out of that. I’m not gonna screw you over. That’s just a dick thing to do.”

Kunimi’s resulting smile made Yahaba’s breath catch. “I was hoping you’d be cool about it. It’s a little hard keeping something like this from somebody you actually want to be around.”

Swallowing hard, Yahaba gaped. “You mean you —”

“Like you?” Kunimi snorted. “I do. You’re absurdly attractive and sweet in your own way. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t interested.”

Sweat sprouted in Yahaba’s palms, which he aggressively scrubbed at on the fabric of his gym shorts. “So if I theoretically wanted to, say, invite you to stay over for the weekend to hang out, would that be okay?”

Kunimi shrugged. “I’m good with it if you are. Plus, you could badger me to ice my ribs more often than I probably would on my own.”

“Good.” Yahaba raked his teeth over his bottom lip and hesitantly inquired, “So if I, uh, wanted to kiss you, would you punch me in the nuts?”

A laugh turned into a cringe, but Kunimi’s good spirits lingered. “I would not.” Not waiting for Yahaba’s stammered response, Kunimi leaned over and pecked a soft kiss to Yahaba’s cheek. “You’re blushing. It makes me wonder what else makes you blush.”

Blush flaring into flaming red, Yahaba ducked his head into his shirt and whined, “You’re trying to kill me, aren’t you?”

“Where’s the fun in that? Now I’ll keep teasing you until you can barely stand it —” Kunimi carefully tugged his tee back on and stood. “You mind walking with me to the clinic? I can make it there fine, but I’ll get bored waiting by myself.”

“Of course.” Yahaba keyed a quick text to their coaches to let them know neither of them would be returning to practice, and they set out for the walk-in clinic a few blocks away from the school. 

Halfway, Yahaba almost stumbled when Kunimi linked his little finger with Yahaba’s, a wicked smirk inhabiting his lips as blood rushed to Yahaba’s entire face. “It’s cute when you get all nervous.”

“You really are trying to kill me.”


End file.
